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The real you

Take5
8 months ago

Hi everyone 

Just wondering if anyone would be willing to share their experience of the differences between when your masking and unmasked?

My son has been having therapy for 4 months or so now and it’s been quite amazing to see the difference in his true personality tbh. He was very shy and quiet and still can be sometimes but being able to learn to unmask has definitely brought out another side to him. 
It has been great to see this for me as I now know how he feels and he doesn’t mind letting me know. This is something I would like to be able to do in the future and just wondered if it came as a shock to anyone or was there not much difference from when you masked??

Thanks for reading the post

  • 8 months ago in reply to Deleted user

    Really interesting stuff. I really need to try and delve into this. Been masking that long though I don’t really know where to start. 

  • 8 months ago

    I'm not sure there is a difference. I don't need to mask, as I don't attempt to be around other humans anymore.

    I only have memories of a masked version of myself. I don't think I was particularly good at masking.  My problem is that I actually like the real me and want to be him all the time.

    I suppose if I were to mask, I would start keeping my opinions broadly to myself.  This society is based on obedience to power.  Power moulds the behaviour  of individuals so that they are less of a threat to the interests of the powerful.

  • 8 months ago

    When masking my voice is robot like. I can only say a few things, often doesn't make much sense lol.

    When I'm not masking I'm so talkative! I could talk and info dump for hours on end. Only really happens when I'm with my family.

    When masking I can make eye contact for a few seconds but I'll keep glancing away because it makes me so uncomfortable. 

    I never make eye contact when I'm not masking. I can't do it.

    When masking I appear unhappy, cold, according to my family. When I'm not masking I'm happy, bubbly and excitable. I clap my hands and do a lot of bouncing.

    I don't feel like myself when I'm masking and I try not to mask if I can help it. It's an exhausting exercise and by the end of the day I need to rest to recover.

  • 8 months ago in reply to Fibonacci Squid

    Thanks for sharing. And I’m glad you seem to have a good few positives 

  • 8 months ago

    So there are the 'negative' things (by which I mean society perceives them as negative):

    My tone is much flatter and has less tone

    My eye contact is nearly non existent

    And then the positives Slight smile

    I am much more exited and 'flappier' (I waggle both in stimming and in explorations)

    I get hugely excited over little things

    I can tell you many many things, the infodump is major, those that like it, love it, those that don't, have to deal I guess